Fifth wheel for trailers



Jan. 16, 1934. B, F. LlNToN FIFTH WHEEL FOR TRAILERS Filed July 27, 1929 j Z `Z:/ Q Z A TTORNE YS.

Patented jan. 1.6, 1934 UNITE s'm'rlss PATENT OFFICE FIFTH rWHEEL Fon TRAILERS 'Bert F. Linton, Visalia, Calif. Application' Julyrz'z, 1929. serial No. 381,613

e claims. (o1. 30s- 220) My invention relates to improvementsinaiifth I will refer to the arms and the central wheel for trailers, and it consists in the commember 6 as an upper rotatable member herebinations, constructions and arrangements hereafter. Beneath the rotatable member 6 I disinafter described and claimed. pose a similar member 9, hereafter known as the 5 An object of my invention is to provide a fifth lower member, having radially-extending arms 60 Wheel for all makes of trailers and the like, in 10 that are secured to L-beams 11 (see Figure 3). which all of the bearings run in oil and are posi- These I-bearrlS are pOSitOIled dileCtlY blOW the tively protected against dirt and dust. The wheel fbeamsl and 4, and are Carried by Springs l2 is extremely simple in construction and is strong (See Figures 1 and 3) Which in turn are Supported l0 and durable for the purpose intended, At the by transverse members 13 carried by the truck 65 same time, the wheel is light in weight, which is chassis 14. The members 13 and 14 lie in the a big factor in the manufacture of trailers. Same plane. It is obvious that some other attach- Another object of the invention is to so arment could be made between the lower member range the bearing for the free end of the shaft 9 and the truck 1 if desired Without departing 15 which connects the upper and lower members reflOm the Spirit and SCOP@ 0f my DVEIltOH.

spectively of the trailer and truck, that the The upper member has a bore 15 extending weight of the trailer imposed on the shaft will therethrough, and a stub shaft 16 is disDOSed iii cause an infinitesimal looseningr in parts of the the bore. The member 6 also has a recess 17 for bearing so as to relieve binding pressure on the receiving a shoulder 18 on the shaft 16. A nut 20 bearing elements thus avoiding any wedging an 19 and a washer 20 are disposed at the top of 75 enabling an utmost freedom of turning. the shaft 16, and the nut rigidly secures the shaft -A further object of the invention is to proto the member 6. vide a bearing structure which is located medially The bottom of the member 6 has an annular of the bearing assemblage, said structure involviange 21 Which has a running t in the upper 25 ing a certain intertted flange and cylindrical DOItiOIl 0f a Cavity 22 in the IOWGI' member 9.

cavity, said cavity containing unitary thrust and A shoulder 23 is formed in the wall of the cavradial bearing means on which much of the load ity and supports a unitary thrust and radial bearis imposed by virtue of its spacing from the ing 24. This bearing includes complementary flange and the contact therewith by a shoulder races respectively on the shaft and on the lower on a connecting shaft. member, and bearing 'elements therebetween.

` Other objects and advantageswill appear as An annular flange 25 extending inwardly from the the specification proceeds, and the novel features wall of the cavity or recess, forms a shoulder for will be particularly pointed out in the claims receiving a roller bearing 26. This bearing prehereto attached. Y vents gyration of the shaft end. The bearings My invention is illustrated in the accompanyare inclined with respect to the axis of the shaft 90 ing drawing, in which: 16 for withstanding end thrust. The inner bear- Figure 1 is a side elevation of a truckand ing race Aoccurs on the shaft, the outer race being trailer showing my device operatively applied on the lower member 9. The inward taper of the thereto; A raceshas the important effect of relieving bind- 40 Figure 2 is atop plan view of the device; and ing pressure on the vinterposed rollers under the 95 Figure 3 is a section along the line 3--3 of Weight of the vehicle imposed on the shaft, it be- Figure 2. ing apparent that the downward pressure on the In carrying out my invention, I make use of a shaft tends toward an infinitesimal separation of truck indicated generally at 1 and a trailer inthe inner race from the rollers, thus avoiding any dicated generally at 2. These two are pivotally wedging action on the rollers and thereby ena- 100 connected together by the fth wheel which bling the utmost freedom of relative turning of will now be described. the members 6, 9. The roller or thrust bearing is The front end of the trailer 2 has I-beams 3 locked in place by a nut 27 that is threaded and 4 disposed at its sides. To these beams I upon the lower end of the shaft 16. A cap 28 is connect four girders 5 that extend radially from secured to the bottom of the member 9 and 105 a member 6 which constitutes a common center. houses the bottom of the shaft. The ends of these girders or arms may be se- Oil is fed into the recess 22 and lubricates the cured to the I-beams by bolts 'l or other suitable bearings 24 and 26. The cap 28 acts as a catch fastening means. The front ends of the I-beams for the lubricant and at the same time prevents 3 and 4 are connected together by a cross bar 8. dust and the like from entering the bearing 26. 110

The ange 21 acts as a seal for the top of the recess 22 and prevents dust from gaining access to the bearing 24 and at the same time locks the lubricant in the device.

It will be seen that the trailer 2 may swing with respect to the truck 1 and that the swinging movement will turn the member 6 with respect to the member 9. The shaft 16 will be carried with the member 6, and the bearings 24 and 26 disposed between the shaft and. the member 9 will permit turning movement therebetween with a minimum of friction. The device is simple in construction because it consists of a single shaft rotatably connecting two members together.

Although I have shown and described one embodiment of my invention, it is to be understood that the same is susceptible of various changes, and I reserve the right to employ `such changes as may come within the scope of the invention as claimed.

The device has principally been designed for trailers carrying up to eight tons. The arms 5 .are made strong enough to each carry an overload of 4000 pounds. 'Ihe device is an all steel construction.

The cross arms extending at an angle act as braces and permit a single working point to stand up under road strains. By working point is meant the actual connection between the trailer and the truck. The single working point is the shaft or pin 16 which is connected to the member 9 by the ball race 24. The bearing -26 acts as a wear take-up bearing. The tightening of the nut 27 takes up any wear. An oil ring 29 is carried by the member 6 and seals rthe recess 22 against foreign matter.

Wear takes place on the two bearings 24 and 26. The renewal of these is all that is necessary when the device becomes worn to a point where take-up on the nut 27 comes to an end.

I claim:

1. In a vehicle fifth wheel having upper and lower members; a single annular flange beneath the upper member dening a central recess, the lower member having an uninterrupted cylindrical cavity in which a portion of said flange has a running fit, said cavity being bottomed to vprovide a shoulder, a shaft having a shoulder seated in the recess and extending below the flange, and unitary thrust and radial bearing means in the cavity, resting on the cavity-shoulder and being spaced below the confronting flange, said bearing means having the shaft-shoulder resting thereon.

2. In a vehicle fifth wheel having upper and lower members; a single annular flange beneath the upper member defining a'central recess, the lower member having an uninterrupted cylindrical cavity in which a portion of said flange has a running fit, said cavity being bottomed to kprovide a shoulder, a shaft having a shoulder seated in the recess and extending below the flange, unitary thrust and radial bearing means in the cavity, resting on the cavity-shoulder and being spaced below the confronting flange, said bearing means having the shaft-shoulder resting thereon, said shaft extending down through the lower member, and bearing means interposed between the lower end of the shaft and the lower member.

3. In a vehicle fth wheel having upper and lower members, a shaft projecting downwardly from the upper member, an anti-friction main supporting bearing for the shaft associated with the lower member, a radial and axial thrust bearing for the shaft arranged below the main bearing and made to prevent upward movement and sidesway of ythe shaft and a third lateral bearing for the shaft arranged above the main bearing, the anti-friction members of the main bearing being arranged immediately adjacent the shaft and the third bearing having a radius larger than the radial distance of the said anti-friction members from the axis of the shaft.

4. In a vehicle fifth wheel having upper and lower members, a shaft projecting downwardly from the yupper `member into the lower member and a combination anti-friction radial and axial thrust bearing for the shaft associated with the lower member, the bearing being arranged in close proximity to the axis of the shaft to prevent slight `turning movements of the upper member from appreciably moving the anti-friction elemen-ts of the bearing, and lateral supporting bearings arranged above and below the said thrust bearing.

5. In a vehicle fifth wheel having upper and lower-members, a single annular flange beneath the upper member, the lower member having a cylindrical cavity in which a portion of said flange has a running t, said cavity being bottomed to provide a shoulder, a shaft having a shoulder extending below the flange, and rmitary thrust and radial bearing means in the cavity, resting on the cavity shoulder and being spaced below the confronting flange, said bearing means having the shaft shoulder resting thereon.

6. In a vehicle fth Vwheel having upper and lower members, a shaft projecting downwardly from the upper member, an anti-friction mainsupporting bearing for the shaft associated with the lower memberand a lateral bearing for the shaft arranged above the main bearing, the anti-friction members of the main bearingbeing arranged immediately adjacent the shaft and the i lateral ybearing having a radius larger than the radial `distance of the said anti-friction members from the axis of the shaft. 

